Our weekly tips include NICE, GREEN, HEALTH and FOOD. Keep on reading for some new ones, too.

NICE:

Well, here it is the beginning of the end of the year. With Halloween just around the corner, Mamas all over the country are starting to rally and prepare for the BIG HOLIDAYS. You know — Thanksgiving and all the December traditions. So before all the lists begin and kids start doing the “I wanna” dance, consider a new family tradition — adopt a less fortunate family and make their holidays. This has been a tradition at our launch pad since the RockIt Kids were RockIt Babies. They enjoy getting the families “wish list” and going shopping. They call it their “Secret Santa” job. Due to this terrible ongoing economy crisis, there are a number of families that need help getting through the holidays. Here are some suggestions: Becky’s House (shelter for domestic violence); YWCA, Polansky Center (abused children shelter) and even your church. If you are not local, you can contact your local YMCA, church or County Social Services.

GREEN (This month Green = $$$)

How do you help your children’s school fundraise? Do you buy your obligatory wrapping paper, cookie dough and gift cards? Here are a couple of new ways to help the schools.

1. Attend the schools fundraising events, such as Community Dinners at local restaurants (Dine-Outs);

2. Recycle cans, paper, plastic, cell phones and toners;

3. Attend and recruit attendees to the school’s largest annual fundrasiers be it Golf Tournament, Poker Night or Fall Carnival. If you are local to North County San Diego, check out this 2 day Carnival in La Costa.

HEALTHY:

While we are talking about goals and finishing out 2011, what is your fitness goal for the year end? Are you training for a specific event? Is your goal to maintain your current body? Studies show that if you are lacking a specific goal, you are not exercising to your full potential. You are just “working out”, not pushing your body to attack that goal. Time to find A GOAL, which requires A PLAN. The plan will get you to the goal!

The first step is to ask yourself a very important question: what is it that you want to be able to do?

Do you want to run faster? Jump higher? Lose weight? Put on muscle? No matter what you want to do you can train your way to get there. And it’s a lot easier than you think.

Get Organized, Get a Calendar and Get off the Couch

Pick one goal. What’s one thing you want to be able to do right now that you can’t? Whether it’s touching your toes or doing a triathlon, define what it is. Simply saying, “I want to run far,” doesn’t hack it. Are we talking one mile? Fourteen? Be specific.

Do a fitness test. In order to really know how to train, you have to know the level you are at right now. It’s fitness test time! If you want to run a 5k in 12 weeks without stopping, you need to know how far you can run today without stopping. Go out and try it. How far can you go? How did you feel when you were done? Could you have done more? Should you have stopped earlier?

Work backwards. Take the results from your fitness test and simply work backwards. If you want to run a 5k but you’re only able to run 3/4 of a mile today, then you know how much you have to improve each week to arrive at your goal on time. It’s basic math.

Write down your plan. Look at your calendar and pick a date by which your fitness goal should be accomplished. Choose a date that is within six to 12 weeks. Mark it on your calendar in big, fat, red ink. That date is now what you’re working towards in every training session.

Research. GIYF= Google Is Your Friend. Use the power of the mighty interwebs and investigate training ideas, videos, online resources, local groups, healthy tips and more.

Think positive and visualize. Close your eyes and see your body rocking it. What does it look like to see yourself climbing to the top of that huge mountain? What does it feel like? If you can’t see it, it won’t happen. End of story.

Think like an athlete. Looking at your training plan, what could you add to make it more complete? Are you getting in proper amounts of strength training, cardio training and flexibility work? Don’t get so obsessed with your single goal that you fail to create a balanced program. For me, the more miles I run, the more time I get my ass to yoga to improve flexibility. When creating a running training plan, I make sure I go to two yoga classes a week. You’re not going to love every piece of training, but it’s about doing what you have to do to get to your goal.

Share your fitness goal! Hit up Facebook, Twitter, put it on the board at work or make it a part of your email signature (okay, that might be pushing it). When you tell the world what you have set out to do, it makes you accountable and gets you the support you need. Having loved ones cheer you on will inspire you to keep pushing when your training sucks. Best part? Sharing your goal is how you inspire others to do the same.

Check in. This is big. Check in with yourself every week on the same day. As the training gets more intense, it can also get boring if you let it. What does your body need? Do you need to modify your original goal? Are you getting enough strength work? How is your diet? By checking in with yourself weekly and readjusting your training, you can reach that next level of fitness.

Finally…make your goal! Then Tweet’em, Facebook’em or post’em here. By putting them out there, you are accountable! Besides, we love to hear them.

FOOD:

It is time to pull out that slow cooker/crock pot for some easy dinners. When you mention crock pot, everyone thinks “chili”. But not so much. We found this great site, Skinny Crock Pot, and they have easy and healthy recipes. This week it is Chicken with Mushrooms and Gravy.